Life as the Captain of the 8th Division
by GhostiesandGhoulies
Summary: The Head-Captain decides it's time to fill the vacant spot in the 8th Division Captain seat. Due to the recent war that had ended, the Head-Captain only sees one possibility - Ichigo Kurosaki. Given the reputation of the 8th division, Ichigo knows it won't be an easy time. Follow him as he gets used to life as a Captain and the occasional conflict that comes up in between. SPOILERS
1. Promotion

**Ciao a tutti! I am currently in Italy on a 10 month exchange and am loving every minute. Though my updates are taking longer, so forgive me for that. Anyway, while here I have been catching up on the Bleach manga and I am now caught up to the most recent chapter. But I felt the urge to write something for Bleach so low and behold here you have it!**

**SPOILER ALERT: IF YOU AREN'T CAUGHT UP TO CHAPTER 553 OF BLEACH THEN DON'T READ!**

**Also in case someone doesn't know, this is not how the story will go I'm sure, though part of me really wants for Ichigo to be made a captain. This is just what I thought would happen. Hope you enjoy!**

**Bleach belongs to Noriaki 'Tite' Kubo.**

* * *

Ichigo stood atop Sokyoku Hill, overlooking the Soul Society. Many things had gone a couple of months before but thankfully those problems seemed to be behind them. He found himself always thinking back to the many things he had learned in a short amount of time. That and just how much had happened in that short window of time. It seemed like it couldn't be possible.

Especially the fact that he was officially dead, only a few weeks ago he had been out wandering around and was attacked by a gang, before he had a chance to do anything they had stabbed him and unknowingly killed him. When he had awakened he was in the Soul Society. He found himself still missing home but the knowledge he could return whenever he wished, thanks to the Soul Society's captains for giving it their approval, was comforting.

Before he could think anymore a hell butterfly fluttered in front of his face, startling him from his thoughts. He lifted his hand and allowed the butterfly to land on his finger, the message it conveyed surprised him slightly. He found himself wondering what reason Head-Captain Shunsui would have to see him. He let the butterfly flutter off and then flash stepped away, heading towards the first division.

He arrived quickly and entered where he was met with the sight of all the captains gathered. Ichigo quietly made his way forward, feeling slightly suspicious about the situation.

"Ah Ichigo, glad you could arrive so swiftly," Shunsui greeted from the front of the room with a small smile. He gestured to the other captains lined up on either wall, "As you can see I have gathered all of the captains for a meeting and I wanted you to be present for this one."

Ichigo stopped his advance and crossed his arms, "Why specifically this one?"

Shunsui kept his smile, "Right to the point as always... Specifically this one because it has to do with your future here in the Soul Society."

That caught his attention. Ichigo straightened slightly, paying closer attention now.

"As you know," Shunsui began, "my promotion has left a vacant spot in the 8th Division Captain's seat. The Lieutenant's seat is also vacant due to my promotion Nanao, as you are aware."

Curiosity got the better of him, "Yeah, I knew that but what's this got to do with me?"

Shinji snorted, "You're an idiot sometimes, Strawberry."

Ichigo sent a well aimed glare in the blonde's direction and then shifted his gaze back to Shunsui who was still smiling albeit mysteriously now.

"Well Ichigo," Shunsui said, "I wanted to offer the position to you."

That stunned him for sure, "What?"

Ukitake decided to step in, "All of us are well aware that you have achieved Bankai, before you even had your true zanpakuto which means you've passed the Proficiency Test and are therefore eligible to become a captain. Besides that, all that you have done for the Soul Society in the past years cannot go unnoticed. Plus there is the fact that your human self is dead so you are a full Soul Reaper now."

"The point is that you are more than qualified," Shunsui continued after a moment, "and we need a captain and I see no one else fit at this point in time. So what do you say Ichigo? Will you take my former place as captain of the 8th Division?"

Everyone waited in silence as Ichigo seemed to think about the offer deeply.

Ichigo seemed bugged by something, "There's something I want to know though..."

Shunsui gestured for him to continue.

"Does the movement have the approval of all of the captains and their lieutenants?"

The question took all of them by slight surprise.

The Head-Captain chuckled slightly before motioning to all of the captains, "Well the captains are all present, why don't we direct the question to them for themselves? I certainly give my approval, when I voiced the possibility to Nanao at an earlier point she full heartedly agreed to it, so you have the approval of the 1st Division."

Ichigo looked to Sui-Feng expectantly.

The woman huffed, "Despite your annoying habit to be quite the idiot at times I give my approval..." She paused and looked up with a glare, "Do you as well Lieutenant Omaeda?"

The large man came down from his hidden spot in the rafters and swallowed nervously, "Yes Captain Sui-Feng, of course."

Ichigo's gaze turned to the 3rd Division captain.

"You have my approval, as well as my injured Lieutenant's, rest assured," the man said coolly.

His gaze traveled then to Isane, who had been promoted to Captain after Unohana's passing.

The white haired woman smiled kindly, "I know you would of have my late Captain's approval and I give it as well, Ichigo Kurosaki."

Shinji smirked, "Of course you have my approval you idiot, not sure why you even bothered asking. I guarantee Momo would agree, wherever that sneaky woman is..." He looked around the room slightly in annoyance having said that.

Ichigo then looked to Byakuya, wondering what the mysterious man would have to say.

The Elder Kuchiki stood with his eyes closed, per usual. After having lost his Bankai and recuperating from it's vicious attacks he had returned mostly to normal, the only difference having been that he seemed to cherish things a little more than before. "You started out my enemy Kurosaki," he said indifferently, "but somehow or another you managed to change this fact and now we are allies." He opened his eyes and looked at Ichigo steadily, "When you came to help the Soul Society against the Quincies and even went so far as to speak to me before going to the battle and ended up saving Soul Society is when you truly gained my trust and dare I say respect." Byakuya nodded then, "I give my strong approval to this motion." A scowl crossed his face before he asked, "Would you agree as well Lieutenant Abarai?"

Renji too came down from the rafters and smirked, "Damn right I do, it's about time if you ask me."

Ichigo couldn't stop the slight quirk of his mouth at that statement, it was just so Renji to say such a thing.

"You have my approval as well as Lieutenant Iba's," Captain Komamura said with conviction.

Captain Mugurama nodded, "I have seen your strength many times, I approve." The man then closed his eyes and shouted, "HISAGI DO YOU APPROVE?"

A shout of, "YES SIR," was heard from behind the entrance door.

Ichigo looked over to Toshiro then, slightly surprised by the look of utter annoyance on the small captain's face.

Toshiro let out a huff of air, "Of course I agree... let's see why my lieutenant thinks..." His voice lowered at that statement. "RANGIKU," he shouted, "STOP EAVESDOPPING FROM THE CLOSET!"

The sound of something falling sounded followed by the sound of hurried footsteps, "Sorry 'bout that Captain." The busty woman smiled at Ichigo coyly, "Of course I approve of you darling!"

Ichigo couldn't stop the slight blush from dusting his cheeks as Rangiku had bent over and practically flashed him when she had said that. He quickly moved his gaze over to where Kenpachi was supposed to be but instead found the pink haired lieutenant standing there cutely.

"Kenny is busy healing right now but you know you'd have his approval 'cause he still wants to fight you Ichi," she said happily. Giggling a little at how Ichigo's face unintentionally paled somewhat. "You know I do too 'cause I wanna keep you around," she added after a moment.

Captain Kurotsuchi looked disinterested, "Do whatever you like, I don't care."

Ichigo knew mentally that Nemu would say whatever her captain said. Lastly he looked to Ukitake who was smiling.

"You are already aware of my answer," he said kindly, then he looked towards the door, "what say you Rukia?"

Rukia entered the room proudly, striding up to stand by her captain. She looked to Ichigo and smiled, "You don't even need to ask, of course I'm for it."

Ichigo returned with a half smile of his own. He glanced at them all again, reflecting on their answers. Then he turned to face Shunsui directly again, his face seemed definite.

"So Ichigo," the man asked, "I ask you again, will you take the place as captain of the 8th division?"

The strawberry blonde closed his eyes for a moment and then flashed them open again, looking the Head-Captain dead in the eyes, "I will."

The look that Ichigo gave him perked Shunsui's interest, but he said nothing. He nodded to himself and then stood, trying not to notice how everyone seemed to straighten themselves as he stood. "Very well," he said, "Ichigo Kurosaki do you swear to protect those in your division and those within Soul Society to the best of your abilities at all times regardless of the cost?"

Ichigo nodded, "I swear it."

"Do you swear to uphold the traditions and laws of the Soul Society and report any suspicious behavior of any kind?"

"I swear it."

"Do you also swear to carry out the duties of a soul reaper and perform konso on the souls that remain in the world of the living and to slay hollows as they may appear?"

"I swear it," Ichigo responded just as confidently as the first time.

Shunsui couldn't stop another smile from crossing his face, "Then by my power as Head-Captain I so name you Captain Ichigo Kurosaki, leader of the 8th Division of the 13 Court Guard Squads." He motioned to Nanao who stood and walked to Ichigo laying the white haori of a captain in his hands.

Ichigo wasted no time and with grace, slid it onto his shoulders over his shihakusho. It had no sleeves but it felt perfect for him, he felt prided having it on his shoulders. The inside was raspberry rose, as he remember the color of the 8th division to be.

"I figured you might like your haori to be without sleeves, seeing as how the sleeves of your shihakusho always end up ruined one way or another," Shunsui commented.

He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly at that, "Yeah that does happen a lot... But I do like it this way, it feels... I dunno... natural I guess."

Ukitake gave him a look of approval, "I'll say! You look very natural in that haori!"

There were some murmurs of agreement from some of the other captains.

Shunsui cleared his throat which silenced any further sound, "Ichigo, there is the matter of your lieutenant still to attend to but traditionally the 3rd seat takes up the position, if there is any reason why there is something amiss with this then please let me know and we'll figure something out. That goes for you as well Isane."

Isane nodded to show her understanding.

"Let us now conclude this meeting, before you all go let me remind you that in 2 weeks time there is the incoming of the graduated academy students who have been accepted to join in our ranks. We will be assigning them to their different divisions and I wish for you all to be present with your lieutenants. Dismissed."

With a final bow to the Head-Captain, the others began filing out of the room, flash stepping back to their respective divisions.

Ichigo lingered outside for a moment and then broke into a grin and flash stepped to his new post. He easily remembered the location of the 8th division, having sought audience with Shunsui when he had been captain there. He arrived quickly and stopped atop a nearby rooftop. The courtyard was empty, no one was out. This confused him. Curiosity got the better of him as to where all of his soul reapers could be. He began to head to the barracks, feeling like he wasn't going to like what he would find. Upon opening the door to the barracks he was met with the sight of all of the soul reapers in the 8th division laying passed out on the floor of the sitting room in the barracks, all obviously sleeping off hangovers. A vein in Ichigo's temple throbbed with annoyance, there was no way this was going to stand anymore.

With deadly silence and accuracy he collected all of the empty bottles and rid of them. It was when he was beginning to pick up some of the knocked over furniture and decorations that he was met with a sight that brought back his previous good mood. There watching him curiously was a girl. She had long black hair with bangs that covered one eye.

"Are you our new captain," she asked quietly.

He offered a smile and nodded, "That's me."

She seemed to think about something before motioning for him to follow her.

Eager to leave the mess behind for a time he followed her out to the courtyard.

"I'm sorry you had to see that on your first day," she said just as quietly as before, "that's a bad image to give a captain on his first time here."

"Yeah I wasn't too thrilled," Ichigo admitted, "but that's changing as soon as everyone gets over their hangovers. I won't stand for that behavior anymore."

The young soul reaper smiled brightly, "Oh really? That'll be great for this division..."

Ichigo eyed the girl curiously, "So what is your name, I never asked."

That fact seemed to startle her, "Oh I'm sorry Captain! My name is Saiyuri Kotubo, I am the 7th seat for this division."

"Nice to be formally introduced Saiyuri," Ichigo commented with a small smirk.

She blushed slightly and nodded shyly.

The new captain stopped, he appeared to be thinking, "Tell me, was third seat Tatsufusa Enjoji among those drunk back there?"

"Regrettably so Captain," the girl told him a bit reluctantly.

With a sigh, Ichigo began heading towards the office, "Saiyuri?"

She straightened, "Yes sir?"

"Go do something with friends, you shouldn't have to stay here waiting for a bunch of drunken idiots to wake up," he told her, "just be back before late evening, alright?"

Saiyuri broke into a giant smile, "Yes sir! Thank you Captain Kurosaki!"

Ichigo watched her eagerly head out and then continued on to his office. When he entered he was amazed to find it in relatively good condition. Compared to all of the other buildings this one seemed to be remarkably spared from the destruction. The pile of paperwork that sat on the desk was daunting however. It became painfully obvious that this was how he was going to spend his first day and without a lieutenant to help him out with it. He couldn't resist the feeling to rub his temples. This was going to be a long day.

At some point, hours later he heard the beginnings of a ruckus and decided to investigate. With a glance at the diminishing pile of paper work he headed out, running a hand through his hair. As he had suspected the sounds were coming from the barracks, no doubt from the awakening soul reapers. He waited outside of the door, listening to the muttering and arguing going on inside the building. They were obviously still feeling the effects of their drinking party.

Slowly the noise started to get louder and louder until it was practically a roar inside the building. Ichigo decided it was time to make himself known. With a swift movement he slid the doors open, a slam upon their reaching the end of their track. Everyone froze as Ichigo eyed them with his arms crossed, an irritated look on his face.

Every single one of them immediately went to their knees, bowing their heads; recognizing a captain's robe when they saw it.

"I'll have you know this is not how I wanted my first day as your new Captain to go," Ichigo stated in a dead tone voice, "I hope that tomorrow we can try this again and this time get things right..." The tone of his voice left no room for argument, "By tomorrow I want this mess cleaned up and I am enforcing a new rule effective immediately. While you are under my jurisdiction there is to be absolutely no drinking of any kind anymore, I will not tolerate such behavior any longer. I'm going to change things around here, some of you may not like it and all I can tell you is to get used to it because I am still going to do what I have planned. By the time spring comes around next year we will be seen as a completely different division, no longer will this division be seen as the drunks and lazy soul reapers. Am I clear?"

"Yes sir," the group chorused.

Ichigo seemed to accept the answer and said, "Tomorrow I will see you all bright and early in the courtyard, those who are not present will have to face some consequences. If you're not there by 7:30 don't bother coming. Fix the mess in this room." With that being said he left, closing the doors gently this time, heading back to his office.

The soul reapers all breathed in relief as their new captain left.

"Anyone else get the impression that he is pissed at us," one asked.

Many others agreed. One even said, "Duh, idiot, that was a giveaway."

"All we can do is give him a better impression tomorrow," someone else said with a sigh.

Tatsufusa stood up and eyed the room, "The captain is right though, we need to clean this place up." He paused and then said, "And I don't know about you guys but I definitely agree with changing our reputation, sure the drinking is nice but we need to step it up. Let's try changing for the better, shall we?"

Nods from everyone.

The 3rd seat looked at the door the Captain had left from, _who knows maybe he can bring us to a better future_. He cleared his head and decided to start picking up as well, "Hopefully tomorrow is better, for everyone's sakes..."

Meanwhile Ichigo was looking out of the window in the office, thinking. He truly did hope with the new day came a new start, maybe he could pretend that today wasn't his first day if things went good enough. He eyed the remaining stack of paperwork and let out a groan, there was a bad side to everything it seemed. Without wasting anymore time he set out to try and finish the massive stack of paperwork.

At some point in his work, a knock came at the door, "Come in."

He looked up and was met with the sight of a rather happy looking Saiyuri, "Ah, back already Saiyuri?"

She gave him a puzzled look, "Well it is nearly 8, Captain, so yes I am back."

Ichigo noted the time and rubbed his forehead, "Right, well glad you're back, thanks for checking in with me."

Saiyuri nodded but hesitated in leaving, "I didn't miss anything substantial did I?"

He paused in writing and thought for a moment, "Not unless you mean me stopping a huge ruckus created by your fellow division members, than no. Other than that I want everyone to meet me in the courtyard tomorrow morning before 7:30."

She processed the information and then turned to exit, "Very well, see you tomorrow morning Captain Kurosaki."

Ichigo offered a wave as she closed the door. He let out a sigh and popped his back, he understood why all of the captains hated paperwork now. With the exceptions of Toshiro and Byakuya that is. He held a sneaking suspicious that they had a great distaste for it as well though. The day seemed to catch up with him all at once and he found himself utterly exhausted. He shook his head and pushed away from the desk, heading up to the Captain's quarters.

Upon reaching his room he merely took off his haori and sandals and fell onto the bed. He was asleep almost instantly, hoping for a better day tomorrow.

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**Well there we have chapter one! Let me know what you think in a review if you so wish. I'll try and have another chapter up soon!**

**~Ghosties**


	2. Let's Try This Again

**Ciao a tutti! Got good feedback on the last chapter, glad you enjoyed it. I hope you find this chapter just as much as your liking!**

**SPOILER ALERT: IF YOU AREN'T CAUGHT UP ON BLEACH THEN DON'T READ! That or deal with the spoilers.**

**Bleach belongs to Noriaki 'Tite' Kubo.**

* * *

Ichigo woke the next morning later than he had expected to. By his internal clock he guessed it was somewhere around 6:30 in the morning. That meant he had about thirty minutes to get ready and be down to where he expected to find most of his division waiting for him. At least they had better be there before 7:30 or he would give them something to fear. With a shake of his head, he went to freshen up.

By the time his thirty minutes had passed he had managed to freshen himself and his shihakusho up, eat some breakfast and even do a little paperwork. He was sitting at the head of the courtyard after which, a look of irritation upon his face as the only one present was 7th seat Kotubo. He decided to wait and see if they would show up on their own or not. It was 7:15 before anyone else decided it was time to show up. About 80 or so poured in, looking more or less asleep on their feet. He continued to wait, hoping more would show on their own.

Finally at 7:28, most of the others came pouring in, looking as if they had literally rolled out of bed and ran to their current position.

Ichigo glowered as his third seat came strolling in right at 7:30, looking quite pleased with himself. He sighed heavily and stood, mentally smirking as he noticed almost all of them straighten up and stand at attention. Well at least they respected him enough to do that. He looked around to all of them with a hard calculating look, "I wanted a better impression today from this division and most of you are failing miserably at changing my thoughts. If I say I want you here by 7:30 that doesn't mean you wait until two minutes before to get here! If I set a specific time like that I had better see you running in 15 minutes before!" He glared then, "I am not known to tolerate laziness nor people who are uncaring. If you don't care about this division, then I don't care if you leave this division. Things are changing around here, starting today."

After a moment he continued, "Starting from now, unless I say otherwise everyone is to be up and training by 9 at the ultimate latest. I will not hesitate to kick you awake if you fail to be up by then. I don't care what you train on but it had better be something you actually need to work on. In a couple of weeks we're going to be getting new recruits incoming from the academy. If I had to guess I'd say about 100 as our numbers are lower than is normal for a division. By that time things _will_ be different around here. I'm going to be hand picking people for some leadership positions and also giving all of my seated officers a proficiency test to see if they are still worthy of their seat." He paused to let them process what he had said thus far, "There is also going to be a group of people I select to help better this division in terms of physical appearance, we're tidying up things around here, maybe we'll get something new at the same time. I want you all to work to better yourselves and this division, that is going to be our goal. By the time next spring comes we will be different and we will be better than before. If you waste my time or your own then I will have you removed if need be." Ichigo looked around again and was pleased to find them all listening intently.

With yet another sigh he began again, "Today we're going to start with general sword tactics and strategizing. Any seated officers will follow me into the barrack meeting room, everyone else begin training. Those who refuse to do so, don't worry I'll make sure you do." Again he was pleased to find that they listened and began training immediately, the seated officers having made their way to the front to follow him.

Ichigo waved for them to follow him and led them to the meeting room. Once everyone was situated he began, "Alright, so how many of you do I have? About 30 or so?" Scanning his eyes over the relatively sizeable crowd he nodded to himself, 30 more or less. "I'm sure some of you are a bit concerned about this proficiency test but I promise you it'll be easy. All I really want to do is see where your abilities are and what we can work on. From this point on, your ultimate goal as being a seated officer is to be a good leader and to help those who are not quite as adept with their techniques and training. However, my seated officers who are in seat ten or higher, your ultimate goal is a little more than that, from this point on I want you all to work towards unlocking your Bankai."

A collective gasp went through the room, all of them evidently surprised by this.

"This last war we were in showed how few Bankai users we have now, that needs to be changed," he said lowly, "the Soul Society needs more Bankai users, unlocking it will only make you better than you are. Every single Captain knows their Bankai, as do most of the lieutenants. Some of the other seated officers in other divisions even have their Bankai." He met their eyes, one by one, "You are all strong willed soul reapers, that I have no doubt about your abilities as well being top notch. Don't worry about this test is what I can tell you. Just do the best you can and you'll be fine. I'll probably end up switching some of you around in your positions but don't worry about that either as you will remain a seated officer which is still a huge honor."

Ichigo then straightened and asked, "Before we start up, anyone have any questions, comments or concerns?"

Third seat Tatsufusa stepped forward, "Captain, I do have a question."

He nodded for him to continue.

"Does being the third seat mean I have to step into the position of lieutenant," he asked hesitantly.

Ichigo considered this, wondering why the man would bother asking when he knew the answer, "Yes, it is traditional for the third seat to step in as lieutenant when it is open. Why?"

Tatsufusa swallowed, apparently nervous, "Then I request to be placed into position of fourth seat."

He stared at the large man in front of him, the understanding immediately clicking into place. "So you're telling me that in order to avoid the duty as lieutenant, you would rather be demoted in order to avoid it altogether than to be promoted," he asked quietly.

The third seat nodded.

Ichigo's eyes darkened, "You know what? Fine do as you please, fourth seat _Enjoji_." He made sure to say the man's name harshly to express his disappointment. He reminded himself of the fact that he was Ichigo Kurosaki which meant nothing ever went as planned for him. He held back a growl, desperately wanting to berate his newly demoted fourth seat for his foolish choice. "Anyone else wish to be demoted," he snapped at the rest.

No one said a word.

"Good," he muttered, "we're starting now."

It was simple as he had told them it would be. He told them to spar with one another as he watched their abilities. He ordered them not to blow anything up or to damage anything around them which was a test of their control. Then he took them outside to a separate courtyard where he had them activate their shikai for him to see. He was rather pleased to see they all did so with ease. He then had them summon as much spiritual energy they could around them to see their levels. He only adjusted some here and there which included bumping up 7th seat Kotubo to 3rd seat, therefore promoting everyone under her and switching his fifth and sixth seat. The others remained relatively the same, only minor adjustments here and there.

When they had all finished he told them to take a small break and then to oversee the training the others were doing and point out flaws or show them something new while he went to speak to the Head Captain about a lieutenant. It was easy to find the man as he remained near to the same spot everyday, keeping busy as a bee. Nanao probably had something to do with that, if he were to guess.

"Ah Ichigo," Shunsui greeted, "what brings you here?"

Ichigo let out a sigh, "I need a lieutenant."

This surprised Shunsui who gave him a questioning look, "Oh? What of third seat Enjoji?"

"Fourth seat," Ichigo corrected in a clipped voice, "to show me how much he didn't want the position he requested to be demoted to fourth seat and I told him to go ahead. I promoted my seventh seat to third seat, so that has been filled. But I still need a lieutenant."

The man before him smiled mysteriously, "Only been a captain one day and you're already plowing in head first. I'm glad I made you a captain Ichigo." He waved that off and spoke again, "Anyway, in terms of your lieutenant... Well the only thing I can really see happening is to transfer someone from a different division. Are you okay with that method?"

He nodded readily, "Whatever is easiest and makes the most sense to you. I'm fine with it, I just need to get a lieutenant."

"Alright," Shunsui agreed, "I'll speak to Central 46 and have them arrange for a transfer, if we're lucky they can get it done to today and you'll have a lieutenant before noon. If not then definitely by tomorrow. They like to take care of things swiftly as to have them out of the way."

Ichigo offered a small bow, "Thanks Head Captain."

The older soul reaper laughed and waved him off, "Don't worry about it, I'm glad to be of help." He snapped then, "Oh that's right I meant to ask you, how was the first day?"

Ichigo's face scrunched up and he threw a distasteful look at the wall, "It wasn't what I had wanted it to be, that changed today though. Today is a little better. I've told them what I expect and what our goals are and they seem to be on board so I can't complain too much I suppose..." He shook his head after a moment and offered a small grin, "I'm just happy that today was better, yesterday was kind of dreadful. I should probably get back and check on them though, have to make sure they don't destroy the place..."

"Of course," Shunsui said with a smile, "go on, I'll speak with you at a later date. Good day Ichigo."

The strawberry blonde nodded to the man and quickly flash stepped back to his division, something in his gut telling him something was wrong. He was there in just under a minute and was surprised to find everything going... well perfectly. His seated officers were wondering amongst the crowd of sparring soul reapers, observing and making corrections just as he had asked. He couldn't stop a small swell of pride from welling up within him, things were definitely looking up.

He went to the head of the courtyard and observed for himself the battles happening before him. He quickly picked out basic stances and techniques and he began realizing that some of them must not have adopted their own style as of yet. This fact intrigued him, maybe that could be something they worked on, getting everyone to relax into their own style of fighting and therefore personalize their techniques. While he observed he began taking mental notes as to who stood out to him besides his seated officers. There was a small group of six battling against each other, all of them evidently knowing each other quite well as they fought with broad smiles on their faces. They all fought well for their rather young appearance, using a variety of techniques and stances together to form something new and different. A duo fighting in the center also peaked his interest as they were both quite adept with swordplay and apparently highly controlled kido.

There was one soul reaper that stood out like a sore thumb to him though and not exactly in a good way. He was fierce and unrelenting against his opponent who was having trouble blocking his rather quick and deadly advances. He narrowed his eyes and watched closely. If Ichigo were to guess he would say the man had years of experience in battle but was pretty good at concealing it. He moved with deadly grace and confidence, showing his skill level. His face was concealed by a black mask, leaving only his eyes open to see, his midnight blue hair spiked out and went down to the middle of his back. His eyes were what surprised Ichigo possibly the most, they were pitch black, no color at all.

Ichigo continued to watch the fight closely, slowly making his way towards them. The soul reaper this man was fighting was wearing out and not getting anywhere, he wanted to be ready to step in if need be. At one point he saw it, the soul reaper the man was fighting stumbled slightly and the man leaped at the chance. Ichigo acted quickly, eyes darkening as he realized that the man was going for the kill. He flash stepped in front of the fallen soul reaper just as the man jabbed his sword forward.

Everything around them froze.

The man's eyes were widened as he stared at his sword sticking out of the Captain's gut.

"You know," Ichigo grit out, "if I were a normal soul reaper that might have been a deadly blow..." He pulled the zanpakuto free of his gut and eyed up the man in front of him carefully as his Blut Vene activated and healed the wound quickly. "What's you name soul reaper," he asked.

"Rikimaru," the man answered after a moment.

He quirked a brow, "Only Rikimaru?"

A nod.

It was interesting for him. He recalled something Yoruichi had told him once randomly and couldn't help but wonder about this man.

_'Assassins usually only are given one name, one name to strike fear into the hearts of their victims and future targets. Usually their master gives them this name based on something they have observed or something befitting them. Always be wary around such people Ichigo, they are trained to kill and won't hesitate in doing so.'_

Ichigo decided mentally to keep an extra eye on this Rikimaru. For now he merely let the man take his zanpakuto back and then he gave a fake grin, "Well just be careful, we aren't on the battlefield right now, no need to go for the kill."

Rikimaru nodded again wordlessly, purposefully relaxing his stance and all but ceasing his previous fighting style.

He moved on, not wanting to be suspicious and pointed out some things to others fighting nearby. Something gave him a bad feeling about Rikimaru. He only hoped that nothing would come of this man and that it was only him being hypersensitive to things. The warning signs were there though. This man obviously had fighting experience and was quite adept at sword play but he was also a master of concealing. That and with only a single name and not much to say, it all seemed to be a warning to him.

On a whim, Ichigo approached his new third seat, Saiyuri Kotubo. He tried to make it look like he was merely walking past. "Saiyuri," he said lowly, "keep an eye on Rikimaru, if anything suspicious or mysterious happens around him or with him you tell me immediately."

She gave an almost indistinct nod, seeing to realize that she shouldn't be obvious that they were speaking.

Mentally Ichigo scowled, only his second day and some odd things were happening. He could tell that things were going to get pretty interesting pretty quick.

* * *

**There we are another chapter. Not sure what to think of it. I like it but don't. What do you guys think? The next chapter will hopefully have more to it, I felt I should get something up before too long. Hope you enjoyed!**

**R&R if you want - Ghosties**


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